How Did The Countries Of Africa Get Their Names?

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SOURCES & FURTHER READING
Countries Of Africa: www.worldometers.info/geograp...
Algeria: www.etymonline.com/word/algeria
Angola: www.etymonline.com/word/Angola
Benin: www.etymonline.com/word/Benin
Burkina Faso: afrolegends.com/2013/09/12/wh...
Burundi: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burundi
Cameroon: www.nationsonline.org/oneworl...
Cape Verde: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cape_Verde
CAR: www.britannica.com/place/Cent...
Chad: www.etymonline.com/word/chad
Comoros: afrolegends.com/2018/01/08/wh...
Congo: www.etymonline.com/word/Congo
Djibouti: theculturetrip.com/djibouti/a...
Egypt: www.egyptologyforum.org/AEloan...
Eritrea: www.ucl.ac.uk/atlas/tigrinya/...
Eswatini: www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-afri...
Ethiopia: www.etymonline.com/word/Ethiop
Gabon: www.studycountry.com/guide/GA...
The Gambia: www.etymonline.com/word/gambia
Ghana: www.etymonline.com/word/ghana
Guinea: www.etymonline.com/word/Guinea
Ivory Coast: kids.britannica.com/kids/arti...
Kenya: www.etymonline.com/word/kenya
Lesotho: en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Lesotho
Liberia: www.etymonline.com/word/liberia
Libya: www.etymonline.com/word/Libya
Madagascar: www.etymonline.com/word/Madag...
Malawi: www.etymonline.com/word/Malawi
Mali: www.google.co.uk/books/editio...
Mauritania: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mauritania
Mauritius: www.govmu.org/English/ExploreM...
Morocco: www.etymonline.com/word/morocco
Mozambique: www.etymonline.com/word/Mozam...
Namibia: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Namibia
Niger: www.britannica.com/place/Niger
Nigeria: www.etymonline.com/word/Nigeria
Rwanda: www.etymonline.com/word/Rwanda
São Tomé&Príncipe: afrolegends.com/2015/11/11/wh...
Senegal: www.etymonline.com/word/Senegal
Seychelles: www.etymonline.com/word/Seych...
Sierra Leone: www.etymonline.com/word/Sierr...
Somalia: www.etymonline.com/word/Somalia
South Africa: www.etymonline.com/word/South...
Sudan: www.etymonline.com/word/Sudan
Tanzania: www.etymonline.com/word/Tanzania
Togo: afrolegends.com/2019/04/17/wh...
Tunisia: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tunisia
Uganda: www.etymonline.com/word/Uganda
Zambia: www.google.co.uk/books/editio...
Zimbabwe: www.etymonline.com/word/zimbabwe

[@NameExplain]

If this video looks a bit crappier than usual it’s because my illustrating stylus broke before I started work on this one meaning I had to cobble it together with my dumb hands. Should be back to normal for the next one!

[@jameshowlett8811]

I know you did a lot of research to find out why and how these countries have the names but I would love too know what "real" can actual names of these countries before they were colonize ... But sadly a lot of not all of that history was destroyed

[@joshuataylor3550]

Racist

[@annanamibia7348]

I wouldn't blame the stylus for the inaccurate etymologies.

[@ecurewitz]

It looks just fine. No worries

[@ChristoAbrie]

Eswatini's name literally means "land of the Swazi people" it's original name "Swaziland" was considered too similar to Switzerland and a referendum was passed to change it.

[@hiplsnols4394]

thanks for the extra context

[@playgirl7305]

Anyway in Germanic /Austria Swiss /Holland languages the 'z' is spoken like 'zee', if you combine it with a T more like a "tzee" and with an A 'tza'. They should have demanded that Switzerland changes its country name and not Swaziland.

[@TheInvisibleCanadia]

Austria/Australia want a word.

[@staticshockk]

Another reason they changed is to distance themselves from British colonialism. The same way many other nations took the "land" out of their names.

[@raakone]

And because of its name and having lots of mountains, it was nicknamed "The Switzerland of Africa"

[@hamzahammami22]

Fun Fact: Africa was Tunisia's name until the Ottoman conquest

[@mojewjewjew4420]

Why?

[@Jayvee4635]

@@mojewjewjew4420 because it was what the Romans called it

[@TreyMessiah95]

False, Africa was Called Ethiopia at one point. Upper Ethiopia and Lower Ethiopia

[@Rushrush13]

@@TreyMessiah95 He means Tunisia was called Africa. The Romans created the province Africa proconsularis after conquering Carthage. They probably took the name from a local Berber tribe. It kept the name as Ifriqiya after the Muslim conquest.

[@thebenevolentsun6575]

​@@TreyMessiah95Not by the Romans though.

[@moroccannerd35]

7:05 There is a mistake in the etymology of Morocco; while its Arabic name does indeed mean "land to the west" or more accurately "the land where the sun sets", its English name eventually traces back to its Portuguese name, which comes from what was then the capital of Imperial Morocco, Marrakesh, a city whose name has native Amazigh origins, meaning "land of God". Just thought I'd try to make things clear. Great video though.

[@robertmiller9735]

The ancient state ruled by the Ghana was not located in modern Ghana. It was in Mali and eastern Senegal (though Mali is in the same area as the great Empire of Mali). And Lake Malawi was named after Malawi, not the other way around. It was called Nyasa before independence.

[@TreyMessiah95]

You forgot to add Mauritania

[@cenkiss2331]

Niger is an alteration of the Tuareg name egerew n-igerewen used by inhabitants along the middle reaches of the river around Timbuktu before 19th-century European colonialism.

[@Steveofthejungle8]

Is that 8-but Africa by Toto I hear in the background?

[@SidheKnight]

Yup

[@HazeJozu]

Love your content!

[@perceivedvelocity9914]

It's interesting that a lot of countries around the world are named "land of these people".

[@peccantis]

I'm confused. You say Eswatini but not Côte d'Ivoire. Edit/ my point is consistency. As mentioned in other comments, that Côte d'Ivoire has asked the international community to refer to our with its French name. If you're going to refer to countries by their conventional English names, then in this video, Eswatini should be Swaziland. If you're going to respect their preferred appellations, then Ivory Coast should be Côte d'Ivoire.

[@ChristoAbrie]

Eswatini is the country's official English name, Côte d'Ivoire is a French name that directly translates to English as Ivory Coast. So why would he say it as Côte d'Ivoire when there is already an English name? might as well call Italy itself as Italia, since it's the official name in Italian, or Germany as Deutschland.

[@isaac_aren]

Eswatini also directly translated to Swaziland in English, but that is not the official English short name. With Germany, the official English short name is Germany

[@jakezufolo1597]

Perfect background music!!

[@TheOtherMwalimu]

Kiswahili speaker here, and Malawi does not mean "Lake" in Kiswahili. Lake is "Ziwa." Besides, only a few folks in the north speak Swahili in Malawi. might want to ask Malawians what Malawi means... Congo = Kongo tribe. one large (of many) tribe with their own language (one of the 5 lingua franca of DRC) just south of Kinshasa/Brazzaville. the King of Kongo originally traded slaves with Portuguese, then later decided against it. assuming the river was named after these folks. it was, however, called Zaire for a long time. Tanzania: for Tanganyika, "tanga" means "sail" in Kiswahili and "nyika" means "wilderness" in Kiswahili, so the Lake Tanganyika and Tanganyika would have meant "Sails in the Wilderness." Zanzibar's true name is Unguja, and Pemba (the two largest islands) and Zanzibar means "Black Bar" in Arabic and Persian (assuming what they thought about the look of the people). So Tanzania is a mix of "Sails in the Wilderness" in Kiswahili and "Black Bar" in Arabic. In Kiswahili, Egypt is called Misri, and Mozambique is called Msumbiji. For every country named after a "river," that's a pretty simplistic explanation, there's probably more to it than that... And for all the "unknown" meanings for ethnic groups, I'm sure there's a meaning. Just talk to knowledgeable folks there... You're welcome 🙂

[@johnsonnyirenda]

Malawi means "flames".

[@TheRedKibet]

​@@johnsonnyirenda In which language?

[@Rene2KG]

Great video!

[@bulgeandshoes]

The country is called Côte d’Ivoire not the Ivory Coast as they officially requested the international community to refer to them by the French version of the name only.

[@bulgeandshoes]

Or is it Portuguese? Gurl, i’onno.

[@JamieHaDov]

Same with Cabo Verde

[@kaycarter1540]

It is not a very bold or sensible move to insist on calling your country by a name imposed by colonialists in a colonial language - cote d'Ivoire, ivory coast are both perjorative names. Given because the invaders valued ivory more than the people who live there. More sadly there may be very few elephants remaining in cote d'ivoire So come on our Ivorienne cousins change and find a more befitting name for your amazing country.

[@lukestevens8735]

But where does the name of Lake Chad come from?

[@hiplsnols4394]

the meme

[@phroggekreecher1111]

Egypt's Ancient Greek name Αἴγυπτος (Aíguptos) comes from Egyptian 𓉗𓏏𓉐𓂓𓏤𓊪𓏏𓎛𓀭 (ḥwt-kꜣ-ptḥ or hut-ka-ptah) referring to the temple of Ptah in Memphis

[@kevincronk7981]

I was hoping this would talk about the weird history of the names Abyssinia and Ethiopia, which I know have been used both for parts of Africa, all of Africa, and the nation whoch was once called Abyssinia and is now called Ethiopia.

[@waynegreen87]

I learned that Ghana was named after the Ghana empire. The rulers of the empire were then called Ghana. Ghana means Warrior Chief

[@Fulno]

I want to correct something: Mauritania is named after the kingdom of Mauritania that was in actual Morocco Algeria and Tunisia after the Roman, it doesn’t have relation with actual Mauritania land

[@mvajuru7620]

The name Rwanda comes from the Kinyarwanda verb "kwanda". Which rough translates to conquer/expand.

[@TheOtherMwalimu]

and that, they try to do in DRC to this day

[@mvajuru7620]

@@TheOtherMwalimu tough luck lol

[@rossscott7260]

Extremely minor stylistic quibble: IIRC, "The Ivory Coast" prefers the French term "Cote d'Ivoire" be used which would move it up the list. You are completely right on the origins though.

[@user-bo1fh4nh2n]

2:06 TUNISIA NOOO 😭

[@Rene2KG]

Thanks!

[@NameExplain]

Thanks Rene!

[@matheusfiorelli8829]

the ancient city in Zimbabwe i think its "The Great Zimbabwe" a great stone made castle :V

[@KS-mt1lb]

What was Zaire named after?

[@estajeanette7487]

The congo river. Which translates to mountains."congo".

[@TheOtherMwalimu]

in the KiKongo language (one of many in DR Congo), Zaire means River. Mobutu chose that name during his African "authenticity" movement in DR Congo/Zaire.

[@yilienboumedine5617]

In reality Algeria is named after the founder of the capital Bouloughin Ben Ziri Btw nice video :)

[@achourfreepalestine]

دزايري ؟?¿

[@yilienboumedine5617]

@@achourfreepalestine exact !

[@achourfreepalestine]

@@yilienboumedine5617 Algerian ?

[@yilienboumedine5617]

@@achourfreepalestine yes sir!

[@achourfreepalestine]

@@yilienboumedine5617 then speak algerian

[@purpleblastoise]

God bless Africa! 🇨🇺❤🌍 ☭

[@mybodyisamachine]

Communism 🤮🤮🤮

[@purpleblastoise]

@@mybodyisamachine Capitalism is an evil seed that spreads poverty, famine and war!

[@mojewjewjew4420]

Fuck communism.

[@chetecredivecachera9099]

2:07 Hasn't Algeria ate Tunisia, right?

[@JamieHaDov]

Cabo Verde has asked to be referred to as Cabo Verde, not Cape Verde. Same with cote d'ivoire, not ivory coast.

[@nathalot]

now do the capitals :D

[@warsamaosman0894]

I'm from the horn of Africa especially The Republic of Somaliland.

[@Rushrush13]

Somali is a compound of two Somali words. So' and Maal which means "Go and milk" a reference to the livestock raising heritage of Somalis

[@timothymukhooli5417]

Rwanda was named after the Banyarwanda people in the country who also occupy neighbouring countries like Tanzania and Uganda, Burundi was named after the Barundi people, Uganda was named after the Baganda people, the word Baganda literally means brothers so these people called themselves brothers as a symbol of unity. Also, the Congo countries were named after the Kongo ethnic group, not the river. The river and the forest also got their names from tribe.

[@percy5595]

I have a question! Why aren’t *British* Embassies named as *UK* Embassies?

[@danielleporter1829]

The Official name of the British Embassy is the Embassy of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. The shoethand reference is British Embassy. Just the US Embassy is referred to by its shorthand in everyday language.

[@Zeyede_Siyum]

4:45 Ethiopia 🇪🇹

[@roxxxydubois]

it helps va show frive

[@Nate14567]

2:06 tunisia is algeria

[@achourfreepalestine]

Yes Tunisia is my favorite part of algeria

[@user-bo1fh4nh2n]

My favorite is Libya (9:33)

[@bananenmusli2769]

Ethiopia kinda racing, ngl

[@staticshockk]

Somaliland has the same origin as Somalia, but the land part was added due to British colonialism. Also, Somalia is the only un member nation that recognises Somaliland.

[@Rushrush13]

Somalia doesn't recognize Somaliland, never has and never will. The region will always be a part of it's territory.

[@johnsonnyirenda]

Malawi actually means "flames".

[@annanamibia7348]

So many wrong statements it almost feels like an insult. Congo is named after the old kingdom of Kongo. The river used to be called many names including Nzadi, which the Portuguese spelled Zaire, which was the DRC's name at one point. Kongo itself in turn doesn't mean mountain but ko-ngo (those who subjugate/domesticate/hunt the leopard)

[@Kbenraar]

You didn't even mention that Tunisia was once Ifriqya which is where africa comes from .. it's not that vague, the romans called the people they found in Tunisia Ifri and that became what it became later ... what kind of Algeria is that ? fusing both Tunisia and Algeria , the people of both countries are best friends and all but that map can be very problematic !

[@Lightmations2024]

2:12 mmmm tunisia is algerian

[@ashleyarwaorwa3107]

Finally!!!

[@user-ui1qs9yl1n]

LAKE IN SWAHILI ITS ZIWA EXAMPLE ZIWA VICTORIA ZIWA TANGANYIKA

[@ChannelMiner]

The Chad country looks like the Chad face lol.

[@imanenthuse4009]

Woooo Somaliland 🎉🎉🎉

[@mojewjewjew4420]

Looks like Africa needs some Freeedom.

[@helenbaumander3953]

Not really fair to make a video like this about ALL of Africa. The other videos you do with this structure are about the districts or counties of an individual country, not an entire continent.

[@TheOtherMwalimu]

it's not a great video. lots of mistakes anyway.

[@enim6764]

ooga